Hostas: What do you think?

This is a gold standard variation that showed up this year (year #2 in my garden for this plant). Since this picture was taken in May, another leave has emerged that is almost exactly like this, and I think that it's from the same crown. Do you think I should dig this up and separate it out and try to see if it is stable enough to produce an entire plant like this, or is it just a freak coincidence and the plant is just attempting to revert back to all green (see there is another almost all green leave)? I think that if I could get a whole half and half plant, it would be sooooo cool. Is it common for GS to revert? If that's the case, do you think that I should separate it anyway, so that my gold standard stays looking like one? This is in a pretty "rooty" area, so digging it up will be a real pain in the neck. Please let me know your thoughts and predictions.

To Me...If it Were Almost Any Other Hosta I Would Say it was Just 'Sporting' Out an Unstable Crown in that One Crown Area but...
Seeing How it is 'Gold Standard' Which has had a Great Amount of HVX Hostas Found Flooding the Market through TC...I Would Say No Matter What Dig it...Sterilize the Soil in the Hole Where it was and Around it...And Move the Plant Far Away from Any Other Plants...or...Pot it Up Away from Other Plants so You Can Keep an Eye on it.

Be Sure to Sterilize All Your Shovels and Forks...or Any Tools You Use When Moving the Plant...Sterilize them Well. I Use a Heavy Bleach Concentration of 1 Part Bleach to 4 Parts Water When Cleaning All My Tools When Working with My Hostas.

It is sporting...the advice you have been given regarding Hosta Virus X is accurate...but figuring out what the chances are for that particular plant to have HVX is important.

I've gone through having HVX in plant...and gotten rid of them as a result. I don't want them to infect my other plants.

If the plant is from one of the safe sources, however, then dividing that sporting eye out should be no more risky than dividing any hosta. You should always clean your tools regardless. Lysol is actually better than bleach for cleaning tools!

I don't know much about sporting or reverting, or Gold Standard, for that matter, but just seeing those half green or all green leaves would not lead me to suspect HVX? I do agree that if you don't want it to continue, it's best to try to cut out that eye(s). I treat all my hosta as if they have the potential to be HVX carriers...I handle the roots with a fresh set of latex disposable gloves and if I move or swap hosta, I line the holes with newsprint and replant with fresh soil.

Yikes! I got this plant in the Sissinghurst coop last spring. It has no signs of any tissue collapse or bleeding or any irregularity in the tissue itself, just the coloring on one side of the leave is green, other side is gold. So, a change from the standard plant is also a sign of HVX?

Either way, I will dig it up using sterile technique and pot it up and put it way in the back 40... i will report back in a few years...

Thanks, allnitro. I know that you are a lot more knowledgeable than me about this stuff. I am relatively new to hostas, but I have been really careful about where I get my plants. Maybe I will just leave it where it is and not disturb it. If it has HVX, I would see signs within the next few years, and if I do then I could dig it up and send it out with the trash...

beaux...there is no reason to believe it has HVX just because it is a Gold Standard...it is sporting and the color is normal. I don't know where the Sissinghurst hostas are tissue cultured, but she can tell you and if it's the same source as many of our reputable vendors use, which I suspect is here in the U.S., (maybe Q&Z?), there is no reason to believe that it's infected just because of the colors displayed. Allnitro knows his stuff.

I think because it is a recently purchased plant, and you didn't originally say where it was from, many people will easily assume it came from a local nursery or "box store"...in which case there is a definite reason to be concerned that it could be from an infected source from overseas.

Quoting:If it has HVX, I would see signs within the next few years, and if I do then I could dig it up and send it out with the trash...

I also see no reason to worry about it right now. But dealing with any hosta these days requires good practices of sterilizing your tools between plants because many plants can carry the virus and spread the virus without showing any signs of it - sometimes for years. It's just a good habit to develop and then if a diseased plant shows up in your collection, you won't be worrying about what else you might have infected.

I've had 3 plants so far with HVX and all came from good nurseries at the height of the HVX infection - 2005-2006 - before nurseries were on top of ensuring they had tested plants. None showed signs of infection at first.

That's the way I feel too, Ann. As I said, I treat ALL my hosta as if they are potentially infected, since mine have all been purchased in the last five years or so. I cast a nervous eye over everything in the Spring, that's for sure. But I'm only gonna dig up and trash a hosta if I see hard and fast proof that it's infected.

Thanks, everyone. You have given me lots to think about. I am really careful about my tools and handling plants. Luckily (I guess) I didn't become a hostamaniac until the summer of 2007. And that year all of my plants were either very mature plants left by the old owner of this old house or my new 2007 hostas (6 of them, I think) that came from the nursery of a hybridizer in Maine, who I am sure was aware. By the time the "bug bit me" (after that trip), I had found this forum and the hosta library and was aware of HVX and was pretty careful from that point on. I know it doesn't mean that I am home free - but my introduction to this addiction was at a fortunate time, I guess. My husband calls me a hostachondriac because I am constantly walking around inspecting plant leaves. No new wrinkle goes unnoticed or unmonitored, he says. That is why I was so shocked when folks were saying this plant was likely infected.

I just bought a 'Gold Standard' last month. IF it is prone to HVX, would it be best to throw it away or just separate it from the others. For how long would you need to watch the plant, and what are you looking for anyway?
My first reaction was to just throw it away, to be on safe side.

I got it from Bluestone Perennials. I just got a little nervious when he said it was prone to HVX. I know it came in a coco pot. I don't remember using any tools, just set it into another larger pot and packed dirt around it, usually I just use my fingers to pack it down so no worries about that, I am compulsive hand washer. :)
I will just separate it from the others and keep an eye on it. Glad I saw this, I was going to plant it tomorrow.

My first order from them... i was a basket case when i found out about HVX. the 2 plants I wanted from them, also were prone. she assured me their plants are virus free. I did end up changing my order, and a very nice gal from DG sent me the plants i originally wanted and they have thrived.

BUT -- I would not hesitate buying hostas, even HVX prone plants from any reputable retailer... but not a big box store. [even though i always twitch when i walk past beautiful plants there... i just really resist... it's not worth it.]

That's good bellieg, Sometimes 'Gold Standard's' do that leaf thing. It can still be very healthy just keep your eye one it. I have mine in a pot anyway so no tools to sterilize. Mine looks incredibly healthy but better to be safe.